To Be Like You
by Lialane Graest
Summary: She is afraid, hiding in an alley, and he holds the key to never knowing fear again. Can she take that step? Male!CronaxPatty. "Crotty"


"_Stupid, stupid, stupid!"_ Patty whispered to herself, her legs drawn up to her chest as she hid in a dark alleyway. There was a prekishin chasing her, and she was alone, without either Liz or Kid to save her. _"Why did I decide to go out in the middle of the night to get something for Liz without even telling them I was leaving?!"_

She wasn't crying, but she was terrified. They were on a mission to find this particular prekishin and she just happened to stumble across it, quite literally, without either of her partners. She shook as she heard a noise come from outside the alley that she was hiding in and she buried her face in her knees.

She knew she was going to die here.

"P-patty?"

Her head jerked up, and she found herself staring into Crona's face. He jumped back a bit, his left hand clutching his right arm, Ragnarok already drawn.

"Are- are you ok? Where are Kid and Liz?"

"There's a monster, Crona! We were coming to kill it and I found it because I snuck out and-"

A roar ripped through the air as something slammed down just behind Crona. The pink haired boy jumped, flipping around with Ragnarok already slicing through the air before landing in front of her again, Ragnarok at the ready, his eyes wide as he assessed the situation.

"Don't worry, Patty, I'll protect you."

Patty's eyes went wide. She sat there as she watched the frail looking Crona take on the prekishin that had already killed over a hundred people, his movements precise but fluidic. He was so much smaller than the hulking brute, but he wasn't scared at all. She huddled in on herself, her mind wondering why he could be so sure of himself when the thing was so big and scary looking.

The she remembered. Crona had fed Ragnarok human souls. She knew what Kid had said about it, that it would corrupt them and that they were never to do it, but Ragnarok was fine. Could it really hurt to try it? To see if it would help her not be scared anymore?

As she sat there watching Crona defeat the prekishin with ease, Ragnarok hungrily gobbling up its soul afterwards, she decided that she would. She knew that the thing had killed some poor women just a block away.

She raised her head when she felt Crona touch her shoulder. She must have spooked him and she couldn't keep from giggling slightly as he backed away from her nervously, his hand clutching his arm again.

"Are you alright, Patty? Did-did it hurt you?" he asked quietly.

"I'm fine, Crona, and I think I figured something out! I'm not going to be afraid again!" Her eyes were shining as she surged to her feet and darted away from him.

The meister followed her, worried, just a second later.

She was faster, knowing where she was going and having grown up on the streets. When he came skidding around the corner, Ragnarok screaming in his ear, he just stared for a long second.

Patty held a light blue soul in her hand, as if she were contemplating eating it.

'_Surely she isn't going to. She knows she shouldn't…'_

_'Don't be an idiot! You have to stop her, that's exactly what she's going to do!' _Ragnarok must have heard Crona's thought through their constant connection.

'_I… I don't know how to handle this…'_

_'Just stop her!'_

Patty was trembling, fear coursing through her. '_What if I'm wrong? Kid will be so mad…'_ She shook her head, unaware of Crona's sudden approach. He grabbed her hand just as she made the decision to be strong and not be afraid anymore, the soul starting to glow. He jerked.

Patty tumbled towards him, the soul falling from her open hand. She looked up at him, realizing as she fell against him that he was nowhere near as frail as he looked. Her blue eyes were wide as he looked down at her.

"You can't do that, Patty."

"But I don't want to be afraid of being alone anymore!" Tears filled the petite blonde's eyes, and Crona reacted instinctively, his arms tightening around her.

Ragnarok laughed quietly from his position on Crona's back.

"You're not alone, Patty… you have K-Kid and L-Liz."

"But I want to be strong for them! I want to be like you!" The tears finally escaped her eyes and she buried her face in Crona's chest as she sobbed. "I couldn't do anything against it; I would have died if you hadn't come along! I don't want that to happen again!"

Crona was trembling, but he managed to force out words, "P-Patty, that doesn't mean you have to eat a human soul. You're strong already, but if it means so much, you can train with Ragnarok and me."

"Now hang on you twerp! I didn't say nuthin' bout lettin' her train with us, just that you had to stop her!"

"I knew I did, Ragnarok!" Crona said, looking up at the weapon. "But why couldn't she?"

Patty had stopped crying at this point, and was looking up at the two of them. Neither of them seemed to realize, or care, that Crona's arms were still wrapped around her shoulders.

Ragnarok was silent for a moment before he slammed his fist into Crona's head. "Because she'll eat up all our food, you idiot!" Patty couldn't help but laugh. Crona looked down at her, a smile threatening to cross his face before Ragnarok grabbed his cheek and stretched it out, shouting, "We can't afford another mouth to feed!"

"Don't worry, I'll bring the snacks."

Ragnarok regarded her warily. "Really?" Patty nodded and Ragnarok released Crona's face. "Then let's go train right now!"

It was only when Patty moved away from Crona that they realized how they were standing. A blush spread across both of their faces, and before Patty could stop herself she had leaned forward and given Crona a quick peck on the cheek. As she rushed off she could hear him muttering something.

She was pretty certain it was, _"I don't know how to deal with this…"_

* * *

Patty came into the apartment that they were sharing to find Kid sitting up waiting on you.

"Where were you?"

Patty swallowed. He sounded so serious. "Nowhere, Kiddo."

"You went out, knowing that there was a prekishin on the loose? What would have happened if you had run into it? You couldn't have fought without me and Liz, and if something happened to you we couldn't fight it either! You have to be more careful!"

"Crona killed it," Patty said in a rush.

"What?" Kid was at her side an instant later, his hand on her arm followed swiftly by the other one and Patty couldn't help but giggle at his symmetry obsession even as he gave her a small shake. "You were there? Are you alright? Were you injured?"

She smiled sweetly. "I'm fine, Kiddo. Crona saved me. He's going to help me with some training too."

Kid let go of her arms then. "Alright, Patty. We go back to Death City tomorrow though."

She just nodded and headed to the bedroom that she shared with her sister. She was looking forward to her training with Crona.

* * *

Crona glided through the air, Ragnarok serving as wings and as the occasional bonk on the head when he felt that Crona was spacing out too much.

"Pay attention, Crona! We have to get back in one piece or she won't be bringing the snacks!"

"I'm sorry, Ragnarok."

"It's your fault after all. You invited her. I hope she brings something good."

Crona just allowed himself a smile. He was just happy to get to spend time with the spunky little blonde.

* * *

**A/N: So this was a request from Kishen Grim Camalot. Not exactly the prompt… but I tried to stay as close as I could and stay true to the characters and the anime/manga. May continue on at a later date, I hope you've enjoyed.**

**I don't own Soul Eater.**


End file.
